We all agree that collaboration is the basis for innovation. However, interdisciplinary team work is difficult to achieve and this is especially true in universities where knowledge silos lack of communication between different fields are common. To contribute to this issue, the iC3 (iCreate! iCollaborate! iCan!) workshop aims to bring together students from different disciplines at the FH Muenster. This approach has been developed and successfully piloted by Ms. Landinez with students from business, engineering, design and nutrition over the past 12 months.

The last version of the workshop was jointly held by Lina Landinez and Professor Thorsten Kliewe on August 8 focusing on engineering students. This intensive one-day workshop raised student awareness and provided basic elements on how to develop an innovative concept around a new technology according to market and business needs. In this occasion, students from Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physical Engineering, Energy, and Business came together to improve their knowledge and skills on innovation management and advanced their competencies on working across different disciplines.

The workshop was offered as part of the PLUSPUNKT network that supports students to develop new knowledge and skills through extra-curricular workshops, presentations and events. The workshop was supported by Sandra Fuchs, the university’s coach for students and academics interested in entrepreneurship, who was impressed by the workshop format and content, and would like to offer the workshop in the future university-wide to facilitate the interdisciplinary exchange between students.

The iC3 workshop facilitates the appropriate environment for students to learn about the value of new technologies as part of the innovation ecosystem while providing the opportunity to network, discuss, exchange knowledge and create ideas. The iC3 workshop fosters collaboration for innovation.